Man confesses to murdering his sister in Fuengirola, Spain

A 22-year-old man is now in custody after he confessed to killing his sister following an argument.

 

Photo by and copyright © Spanish News in English

Police discovered the body of the 25-year-old woman, known only as Erika, at 9:15 a.m. on Monday in the family's beachfront apartment on the Paseo Maritimo in Los Boliches, close to the Confortel Hotel in Fuengirola.  Police had been alerted by calls from concerned neighbours who had overheard the argument.

At 9:39 a.m., the dead woman's brother phoned the police and confessed to the killing. Shortly afterwards police arrested the man and he is currently in custody.

A forensic team from the National Police inspected the property and removed the body at 11:45 a.m. 

Police found the body of Erika in a bedroom, although they believe the woman was killed in the bathroom of the apartment and some of the blood had been cleaned up by the brother.

According to police sources, the woman had suffered a violent death. Diario Sur reports her throat had been deeply cut.  Other media sources quote the murder as a beheading..  Spanish media outlets have noted that the family is of Ecuadorian origins and that the young man apparently had a restraining order against him for mistreating their mother.

Police & Firefighters protest in Fuengirola, Spain (video)

It seems that Tuesday is turning into a day for protest by local police and firefighters in Fuengirola, as for the second week in a row, whistles and noise filled the town centre.

Digital Journal reported on the protest last week by members of UPLBA Andalucía, the union for local police officers and firefighters in Fuengirola.

It sort of reminds this writer of the movie "If its Tuesday, it must be Belgium", but now changed to "If its Tuesday, its time for the cops and firemen to make a noise again." And noise, and lots of smoke, they made indeed.

One can hardly blame them, of course, due to the fact that, as reported last week, they have lost 25% of their salary, while the people running the town have increased theirs by anything up to 68%, as can be seen in this video.

The noise was definitely louder this week, as the protesters included sirens and fire crackers in their repertoire, along with ear-piercing whistles and those colourful paint bombs.

"Don't play with security. No more cuts! Officials are not the problem."

In the video, you will see them gradually creeping closer to the front door of the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento de Fuengirola), and you will see the, er, non-protesting police officers keeping guard there and discussing what they are viewing, safely through the glass. 

At one stage, some more serious-looking police officers did approach the demonstrators, but on zooming in, it seems they wanted to know what kind of fireworks were being used. Some national police officers passed by, and a tiny little grin was possibly caught on camera as they walked on.

The writer's new pal, the police officer who tried to take her camera way back in June 2011, was happily banging on a drum today. The writer likes to think that maybe she inspired him a little in his protesting. 

And rather ironically, after the fireworks were spent, another friendly officer pointed out that they cleaned up after themselves right away. However it is important to note, of course, that when 15m members protest in Fuengirola, they also pick up all their mess, but they don't make quite as much chaos and noise. Okay, we won't mention the noise that we all make in Málaga, as that doesn't count here - those are much bigger protests!

This week they also had some snazzy new t-shirts: 
 

"Citizens and public employees are not responsible for the waste"

And a very impressive sign with the ubiquitous pocketful of money, made famous by the Partido Popular and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy recently:

Rough translation: "Full for Oña (Mayoress) and the scavenger civil servants."

The writer might sound a little facetious, and it may sound like she is making a joke of this protest, but seriously it is impressive that these workers are sticking up for their rights. It just takes a bit of adjustment to get a protester's mind around seeing those who abused in the past, joining the ranks of the "indignados." 

See more photos at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/343883

Photo essay: 'PictoParque' — Art in the park in Fuengirola, Spain

The Councillor for Culture in Fuengirola, Rodrigo Romero, has come up with a great idea. Artists will be able to display their work and discuss art in the Parque de España every Sunday, at no charge. 

Not only will artists display their work, the park will become a meeting place for artists and fans of the world of art. Discussions and exchanges of ideas will also take place. And also, not only is this great for local artists, they figure it also helps to make Fuengirola more interesting for tourists. 

For a rather nice change, there is absolutely no charge for the use of a section of the park to display your wares. The premiere of this cultural project was December 16.

Read more and see many more photos at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/339172

Photo essay: Changing moods of the Mediterranean

Most people imagine the Mediterranean sea as a calm blue ocean and dream of warm, sunny beach holidays. But the Med is much more than a calm blue pond.

While in spring, summer and autumn, you can mostly count on relatively calm seas, warm temperatures and an endless stretch of sandy beach, winter brings some quite different moods to the Costa del Sol. In this article we are visiting Fuengirola, on the south coast of Spain, and exploring some changes which were made in the last couple of years to the fishing and leisure port in the seaside town.

Read more and see more photos: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/338736

Sights & sounds of Feria in Fuengirola, Spain (video)

Running from October 6th to 12th, the annual Feria de la Virgen del Rosario in Fuengirola is full of color, sights and sounds. 

A week during the year when business slows down a bit, people take a few days off. When you see your friends and neighbors dressed somewhat differently, with gorgeous dresses on the ladies and girls. The men also dress so smartly, in traditional caballero style as they ride their horses, or drive their horse carts and carriages.

Read more, see more photos and a video